Maddox shakes his head. “You’re not ridiculous, stupid, or hormonal. You aremourning.” He scoots in so close we breathe as one. “Your sister and our baby, your life before your dad died. It may not have always been sunny, but it deserves to be acknowledged, and you deserve to grieve your loss.” He presses his lips to my mouth before he uses them to clear away the wetness on my cheeks. He doesn’t kiss away my tears. The words that spill from his mouth make me feel so loved, the surge of blood through my heart instantly dries them. “Nothing you could say, do, or feel could ever be ridiculous. It matters becauseyoumatter, Demi. You have always mattered. To your dad, to Sloane, to my family…” he saves the best for last, “… to me.”
My head bob is feeble, but for the first time in my life, I have faith in my reply. I will never cure cancer nor will I land a rocket on the moon, but it isn’t just geniuses who play a role in our community. We all have a part to play. It’s just up to us to determine how impacting it will be.
After chuckling to hide his shock about how quickly I agreed with his statement, Maddox pulls me into his chest. A short time later, over the furious beat of his heart, I hear him say, “We will find out what happened to Kaylee, but we need to make sure you are safe first.”
When I lift my eyes to his, wanting him to see my gratitude firsthand, the pleading in his eyes steals the air from my lungs. They’re so beautiful, yet so painfully tormented, and I learn why when he mutters, “Please let me be a part of that.”
“Maddox—”
“I would die without you, Demi. It would literally kill me.” I’m on the verge of waterworks all over again when he whispers, “Itdidkill me.”
I hate breaking his heart. I swore never to hurt him only minutes ago, but I’ve never been one to shy away from the massive elephant in the room. “Your family—”
“Will understand,” Maddox interrupts, his reply resolute and to the point.
I breathe out my nerves before asking, “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Yes,” he replies without pause for thought. “Because I am right where I am meant to be. With you.”
5
Maddox
My eyes drift to the bathroom door when the toilet flushes. Demi and I have been hiding out in Demi’s hospital room for the past four days, waiting for news on what Agent Brahn’s next move will be. In all honesty, I’m apprehensive about his plans. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. Getting Demi away from her uncle is best for all involved, but I’m incredibly cautious about trusting an agent so soon after being brutally burned by one.
Tobias has the credentials to back up his claims he isn’t rogue. He is a highly accredited agent who speaks fondly of his daughter. The knowledge he values her life more than his own assures me the track he’s steering us toward will be rocky but worthwhile.
I somehow need to remember that when guilt creeps into my veins.
My family has been blowing up my phone since I raced away from them on my motorbike. Aware it would be highly suspicious for my death to concur consecutively with Demi’s saw local law enforcement officers encouraging my parents to file a missing person report in my name earlier today. My motorbike was last scanned a hundred miles from Ravenshoe near dense bushland, my final message to my family said that I needed time to clear my head, and my bank accounts have remained untouched since I ‘supposedly’ filled my motorbike’s tank with gas four days ago.
Their messages request for me to give them the chance to help me through my grief. They reveal without a doubt that they believe Tobias’s ruse that Demi is dead and that I made the right decision when I put Demi above them. She has no one. Her father died years ago, her mother hasn’t been seen since his death, and the male members of her family think of her as an object instead of a person, but that isn’t why I chose her.
I love her.
It’s a different love than the one I have for my family. It felt like I couldn’t breathe when I thought she was gone. My heart refused to beat. I was numb and emotionless. I would have preferred death than to remain living like that. My ‘disappearance’ will hurt my family, but they will lean on each other for support. It’s what the Walshs do.
As Demi exits the bathroom, a message from Justine pops up on the screen of my phone.
Justine:I miss you. Your voice. Your laugh. Your annoyingness. Please call me.
I shake my head when Demi says, “I understand if you want to change your mind, Maddox. I won’t hold it against you.”
The angst highlighting her tone switches to a giggle when I snag her wrist and tug her toward me. She falls into my lap with a ghost-like smile on her beautiful face. The tears she shed earlier are no longer visible. She wasn’t crying because she’s devastated we are moments away from leaving this life behind. She shed happy tears, pleased by my suggestion that she dump Dr. Falgar’s pill prescription into the bin next to her hospital bed.
Our baby was a surprise, but that doesn’t mean he or she wasn’t wanted. Proof I’m not the slightest bit scared to face it all over again exposes that.
“What’s your wager?” I ask Demi while dragging my index finger down her nose like I watched her father do anytime he dropped her off at school. Even on her darkest days, it calms her like nothing else. “Will Nurse Sandy rock up before or after I kiss you?”
Demi smiles in a way that has me forgetting the pain my family is currently enduring. My focus is solely on her happiness. “I’m feeling lucky, so I’ll wager a blowjob that she bursts through the doors within ten seconds of your mouth landing on mine.”
As she drags her teeth over her lower lip like she’s hopeful she’ll lose, my cock twitches beneath her ass. We’ve done nothing more than kiss the past four days, but I’d be a liar if I said it wasn’t enough. The past week and a half have taught us there’s more to our relationship than a sexual attraction. We have what it takes to last. We just need the chance to showcase that.
“And you, Maddox?” Demi’s husky voice adds to the girthy rod digging into her ass. The past four days have been tough on her. She’s been poked and prodded, and her arm resembles a pin cushion, but it has exposed how strong she is. I hate that it took the death of our baby to expose her fighting spirit, but it doesn’t make my appreciation of her newfound warriorness any less potent. I wasn’t lying when I said her life matters. It matters to me, and it should matter to her too. “What’s your wager?”
With the chips stacked in my favor, I get cocky. “That I’ll win no matter how soon she arrives.”
I brush my tongue against Demi’s lips, adding to my roundabout claim that I can’t lose when I’m with her before delving it into her mouth. My life changed instantly when I took the life of another man, but it hasn’t been all bad. Demi hasn’t once looked at me differently. If anything, her stares are more admiring. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear she loves the idea of being protected by me.
